Reenactment a věda

Over more than a decade, during which I have been intensively interested in studying the Early Middle Ages, I have sought to uncover disinformations and set straight mystifications that has been created and used by both laymen and professional public. After all, one of the main points of creating this website was to set up a platform, which would set partial and often controversial topics straight, putting them into the proper context. This article is no different, very possibly impacting a wide audience. Today, we will talk about Slavs, neopaganism, nationalism, metal music and a symbol known as “kolovrat”.

A symbol commonly known as “kolovrat” nowadays.

Modern usage of “kolovrat”

Quite a major part of nowadays nationalists, neopagans and reenactors can often be seen wearing a multi-armed whirling symbol – most often in the form of a tattoo, worn as a necklace, printed on a shirt, music album or military patch, or as a shield painting. This symbol, resembling swastika, is known among its users as “kolovrat”. The neopagans recognize many of these whirling symbols, each having its own name and meaning (click for an example). For the sake of simplicity, we will only focus on more-than-four-arms variants with heel and arbitrary direction of rotation. We must keep in mind though that terminology is not unified and thus we can often come across an argument that “kolovrat” is a Slavic version of swastika.

The interpretation of the eight-armed “kolovrat” is often provided to a modern day neopagan by websites profiting from the promotion of the symbol, such as themed e-shops. On these, “kolovrat” is interpreted as “a panslavic pagan symbol of the Sun”(Wulflund.com), “an ancient sacred symbol of our Slavic ancestors” (sperkyluneta.cz), “asymbol of reasonable man, which symbolises the Day star” (symboleswiata.pl) or as a symbol representing the “circle of life, victory of winter over summer, victory of night over day, alternating ruling of Morena and Vesna” (www.valkiria.sk). This ancient symbol is also said to be connected to the gods of Slavic pantheon and prosperity. Print literature which could be used for citation of the origin and meaning is almost non-existent, and the known titles are very general and provide no sources (eg. Kushnir 2014; Kushnir 2016: 67). It therefore seems that “kolovrat” was established as the main symbol of Slavic faith in times when Neopaganism was forming in eastern Europe, and there was a demand for unifying symbol based on Slavic material culture (Pilkington – Popov 2009: 282). Despite the fact, both the symbolism and offshoots of the Neopagan movement (of which we register several hundreds) remain ununified and fragmented, as their members are being recruited from those interested in esoterism, folklore, LARP, history and metal music, who rarely find a common ground. This process can be dated to last two decades of 20th century and can be tied directly to a Russian dissident, neopagan and extremist Alexei “Dobroslav” Dobrovolsky. In the Czech Republic, the symbol and term “kolovrat” started to appear around the end of 20th century, and more increasingly after the year 2000 thanks to the expansion of the internet network.

By those means the symbol found its way to the now-spreading re-enactment scene, which came to adopt it for use during its performance. Part of neopagan movement was and partially still is a bearer of nationalistic and right-wing ideologies to a point. After the fall of Soviet Union, various political and paramilitary units started to appear in Eastern Europe, who found neopagan ideology, symbolism and terminology attractive and adopted their more or less overturned form. This way, “kolovrat” became an important symbol among extremist groups. One of the most famous promoters of the symbol is Russian National Unity (see here), which explicitly avows to Nazism, but tries to bear the impression of Russian origin at the same time, through the usage of Slavic history, orthodoxy and mystic symbolism (Jackson 1999: 36; Shenfield 2001: chap. 5). Estonian branch of Russian National Unity also has the name “Kolovrat” and used to publish a same-named magazine. Symbolism based on “kolovrat” can also be seen nowadays at both fighting sides of the Eastern Ukraine conflict (especially the Rusič battalion); for more details I suggest the article by Matouš Vencálek (Vencálek 2018). To its wearer, “kolovrat” represents a symbol which provides God’s protection and strength in battle, and demoralizes the enemy, who is seen in both religious and political opponents (Jackson 1999: 36). It should be noted that the symbol is absent in Czech literature mapping extremist symbols (Mareš 2006), as compared to our neighbour Slovakia (see here). On the other hand, “kolovrat” is present in the expert opinions that were written for trials with Czech radical extremists (see here). Conservative neopagans see the usage of this symbol as a “fashion abuse”.

It is understandable that the symbol appears in many product descriptions, which target this narrowly focused, yet greatly fragmented community, which at best totals between tens and hundreds thousands of people living in Slavic countries. “Kolovrat” can be found on shirts, caps, patches, flags, in the form of amulets, earrings or bracelets, but also used by various music interprets: black metal (eg. 1389, Děti Noci, Devilgasm), folk metal (eg. Apraxia, Arkona, Obereg, Żywiołak), thrash metal (eg. Коловрат, Strzyga), folk (eg. Jar, Perciwal, Tomáš Kočko), neo-folk (eg. Parzival, Slavogorje), hard rock (Rune) and others.

The truly important question we ought to ask is how accurate the original attempts to reconstruct the original pre-Christian religion were, that is whether the modern use of “kolovrat” reflects the use throughout the history. This question shall be answered in the following chapters.

Usage of “kolovrat” throughout European history

The symbol we now call “kolovrat” has been appearing in European material culture throughout the past three millennia, but very sporadically. It is crucial to note that is it evidently a version of swastika, simply with more than four arms. During all the epochs, from which we know the occasional appearance of “kolovrat”, swastika was commonly used, in severely higher numbers. Swastika is being interpreted as “a symbol of movement, growth, eternity, rhythmical time-flow measured by the Sun, and a symbol which brings good luck and provides protection from evil” (Váňa 1973: 210; Váňa 1990: 186–187). Thanks to this universal meaning, swastika can be found all over the globe. Its doubling (in the form of “kolovrat”) can thus be interpreted as an increase in its power.

Logically, one would expect the highest amount of these symbols in connection to Slavic culture, but the archaeological finds (or the lack thereof) do not support this claim. Unlike the four-armed swastikas, “kolovrat” is almost non-existent and can only be found on the bottom of ceramics from Czech Republic and Poland, rarely also on pendants or as a graffiti on Russian coins. They are also absent in such monumental works such as Paganism of the Ancient Slavs by B. A. Rybakov (Рыбаков 1987), and cannot even be found in major agglomerations where one would expect them most. As far as we know, in Czech Republic, “kolovrat” can only be found on two ceramic bottoms from Zabrušany and Bílina hillforts (Váňa 1973: Pic. 2: F7, Pic. 4: F4). A similar symbol, though lacking the arm-heels, can be found on ceramics from Stará Boleslav (Varadzin 2007: 76: 296). From Poland, we know of a five-armed right-rotating swastika from Kruszwice (Buko 2008: 384, Fig. 176) and six-armed left-rotating swastika from Hedeč (Kołos-Szafrańska 1962: 455, Rys. 4:1). From Russia, we know of six Early Middle Ages uses: one is a five-armed right-rotating symbol engraved into coin as graffiti (Багдасаров 2001: Рис. 87:6), we also know a seven-armed right-rotating bronze pendant from Vladimir (Рыбаков 1997: Табл. 92:16) and four depictions on shield-like pendants from Eastern Europe (Коршун 2012: 33-35; Новикова 1998: Рис. 2:13).

In general, we can claim that there are dozens, if not hundreds of variants, among which the more-than-four-armed swastikas play but a marginal role. It is therefore not possible to regard “kolovrat” as “the most important Slavic symbol”. Such a conclusion is also deemed by authors of several blogs (see here, here a here). Similar multi-armed whiling motifs, which could be connected to doubled swastika, can be found in The Great Moravia and Přemyslid Bohemia (eg. Kouřil 2014: 418, Kat. nr. 333), in Scandinavia and Frankish Empire (see Duczko 1989), but also in Armenia (see here). From later Middle Age periods we know of no records, even though it is possible that this symbol might have appeared in some of the Orthodox icons we will take a look at later. While Kołos-Szafrańska (1962: 455, Rys. 4:1) claims that a six-armed left-rotating “kolovrat” was a part of an old Polish aristocratic coat-of-arms, she does not provide any specifics. Neither the old Czech clan of Kolowrats has the symbol in its coat-of-arms.

The usage of “kolovrat” is often argumented by its appearance in Slavic folk culture, but this is a questionable claim at best. Let us take a look at key work often cited for the origins on “kolovrat” by its users. We are talking about Teka prasłowiańskich motywów architektonicznych (“Collection of Ancient Slavic architectonic motifs”) by Stanisław Jakubowski. The collection consists of 27 graphics depicting ancient buildings and monuments, which decoration is a supposed proof for “kolovrat” being an ancient symbol often used by Slavic nations. But if we undergo a more thorough research, we find out that “kolovrat” only appears in a single graphics. Jakubowski was a painter and graphic, who can be compared to Czech artist Jan Konůpek, with Jakubowski’s work only being an artistic expression, not a credible interpretation of the past. While he might have used the folk culture as a source of inspiration, his work cannot be considered a collection of folk research, thus making this work an irrelevant source.

Stanisław Jakubowski and his woodcut nr. 8 (Jakubowski 1923).

There is only very little true evidence of “kolovrat” being used in Slavic folk culture. Six- and eight-armed variants can be found on the 12th century Wang church tower , which was relocated from Norway to present-day Poland in 1841–1844. It is important to note though that the original church did not have these decorations; they were added by an architect F. W. Schiertz during the second construction (see documentation here a here). The reasons for using these specific symbols are not known.

The original church from 1841 and the reconstructed state.
Source: Drawings by F. W. Schiertz and Fr. Preller.

Eight-armed symbols similar to “kolovrat” are still used nowadays during traditional Easter eggs decoration, specifically during painting and crocheting. Whirling multi-armed motifs can also be found carved on wooden tools used for laundering and knocking fabric in 20th century. It is important to note that “kolovrat” and other whirling motifs are quite common in Orthodox iconography (eg. Багдасаров 2001: Рис. 75:2, 76:3, 79:7, 82:2, 93:1), thus failing our current assumption that they carry a reference to ancient Paganism. The usage by Orthodox church is partially abused by extremists and soldiers, who, as we have mentioned in previous chapter often, put themselves into the role of Orthodoxy protectors.

Identical whirling discs which are sometimes also called “sun symbols” were found during architectonical expedition of V. P. Orfinsky and his colleagues to Karelia in 50s and 60s. Members of this expedition recored several structural and decorative details of the buildings by drawing. These reproductions of drawing and painting are now stored in The Kizhi Federal Museum of Cultural History and Architecture (see collection online).

Six-armed “kolovrat” also became an emblem of the 67th Division of British Army during the World War I., which only proves the popularity of the symbol prior to World War II.

Etymological interpretation of “kolovrat”

In one of his discussion, Russian historian and theologian Roman Bagdasarov refuted the claim that the name “kolovrat” would have ever been used in Russia as a synonym for swastika (Багдасаров 2008). Elsewhere, he added that Russian folklore nomenclature knows several alternatives for the word swastika, which is most often being connected to Sun, wind, flames, hare, horses, horse legs, rings with fingers or the plants Camelina and Stipa (Багдасаров 2001). This diversity of meanings contradicts the idea that the term “kolovrat” might had been uniformly used by the Slavic nations in the past. For interest we can add that in Russian language, the term for swastika had often been presented in plural.

In order to make our research of origins of the symbol complete, here is the etymological interpretation of the term. It is clear that in the past, the term “kolovrat” had no meaning connected to decorative or magical symbol, in any Slavic language whatsoever:

Kolovrat, from *kolovortь: kolo (“wheel”) a vortь (“wiggle, rotate in both directions”).

This article shows that the “kolovrat” symbol is mere modification of swastika and only has been appearing much less throughout the history than it is attributed in present day. Also, the name itself is of modern origin. “Kolovrat” only gained on importance in the last decades of 20th century because of an attempt of Slavic Paganism reconstruction, where this symbol became a imaginary symbol of the movement. Nowadays, it is widely used by neopagans, reenactors, soldiers and companies targeting these groups with their marketing campaigns. A major part of this community has its own interpretation of the past with “kolovrat” playing its irreplaceable role, in which they deviate from scientific research and knowledge on purpose. In conclusion the whole phenomenon proves the ignorance of these groups towards official research and searching for true origins, while coming with alternatives to mass culture, increased extremism and syncretism of religious ideas in postmodern society.

After publishing the very successful article regarding origins of the “kolovrat” symbol, I was requested to write a similar article about a symbol, which came to be known as “vegvísir” (literally “The pointer of the way”, “Wayfinder”) among those interested in Norse mythology. In this case, the situation is much simpler in comparison to other symbols. In the following article, we will take a look at various nowadays interpretations of the symbol, as well as its true origin.

Development of depictions of the “vegvísir” from 19th century till today.Source: Foster 2013 – 2015.

Modern concept of “vegvísir”

Nowadays, “vegvísir” is famous among neo-pagans, musicians, reenactors and especially fans of TV series and other mass-production revolving around the Viking Age. We cannot omit its use in clothing industry, also often seen as a jewellery or tattoo. Reenactors tend to use it as shield decoration or costume embroidery. Among this inconsistent group of people, it is often accepted for “vegvísir” to be “a Germanic and Viking ancient magical rune symbol, which function was that of a compass and was supposed to protect the Viking warriors during seafaring, providing guidance and protection from Gods”. Such an interpretation can only be found in popular literature though, and in romantic fiction created in the past 30 years.

The origin of “vegvísir“

The symbol that we call “vegvísir” can be found in three Icelandic grimoires from the 19th century. The first and most important one of them – the Huld manuscript (signature ÍB 383 4to) – was composed by Geir Vigfússon (1813-1880) in Akureyri in 1860. The manuscript consists of 27 paper lists contains 30 magical symbols in total. The “vegvísir” is depicted at the page 60 (27r) and is marked with numbers XXVII and XXIX. It is complemented by another, further unspecified symbol and a following note (Foster 2015: 10):

“Carry this sign with you and you will not get lost in storms or bad weather, even though in unfamiliar surrounds.”

Among other very similar symbols which can be found in the Huld manuscript belong to the “Solomon’s sigil” (Salómons Insigli; nr. XXI) and “Sign against a thief” (Þjófastafur; nr. XXVIII).

The second grimoire known as “Book of spells”(Galdrakver) survived in a manuscript with designation Lbs 2917 a 4to. It was written by Olgeir Geirsson (1842-1880) in Akureyri during the years 1868-1869. The manuscript contains 58 pages, with “vegvísir” depicted on page 27 as a symbol nr. 27. It is accompanied by a text partially written in Latin, partially in runes:

“Carry this sign with you and you will not get lost in storms or die of cold bad weather, and will easily find his way from the unknown.”

Among other very similar symbols which can be found in the Huld manuscript belong to the “Solomon’s sigil” (Salómons Insigli; nr. XXI) and “Sign against a thief” (Þjófastafur; nr. XXVIII).

The third grimoire is yet another “Book of spells” (Galdrakver), this time preserved in a manuscript with designation Lbs 4627 8vo. While the author, place and time of creation are unknown, we are certain that it was written in 19th century in the Eyjafjord area, which again is close to Akureyri. The manuscript consists of 32 pages and “vegvísir” is depicted on page 17v. Within the manuscript, we can also find more similar symbols than just the “Solomon’s sigil” and “Mark against a thief”. The text accompanying this symbol is rather unique, and the following translation is the very first attempt since the exploration of the manuscript in 1993. From the text it is clear the functionality of the symbol was conditioned by true Christian faith:

“To avoid getting lost: keep this sign under your left arm, its name is Vegvísir and it will serve you if you believe in it – if you believe in God in the name of Jesus – the meaning of this sign is hidden in these words, so you may not perish. May God give me luck and blessing in the name of Jesus.”

Along with other symbols, the “vegvísir” came to Iceland most likely from England, where star-shaped symbols can be tracked as early as 15th century, such as “The Solomon’s testament” (Harley MS 5596, 31r). The original symbols had their meaning in Christian mysticism. A more thorough research might confirm the use of sigil magic even in earlier periods.

The first literature containing the Icelandic version of “vegvísir” symbol along with translation to German was most likely an article by Ólaf Davíðsson on Icelandic magical marks and books from 1903 (Davíðsson 1903: 278, Pl. V). The second time the symbol appeared in literature was in 1940 with Eggertson’s book about magic (Eggertson 1940: column 49; Eggertson 2015: 126). It is often incorrectly believed that “vegvísir” is also depicted in “The Book of spells” (Galdrabók). This mystification appeared at the end of 1980s, when Stephen Flowers publicised his paper The Galdrabók: An Icelandic Grimoire, in which the “vegvísir” does indeed appear (on page 88), but only in a side note on Icelandic grimoires. So how comes the symbol is so popular these days?

We believe the author Stephen Flowers played the main part in propagation of the symbol, thanks to the intense promotion of his paper during the beginning era of the Internet. That was in times of growing interest in Old Norse culture and emerging re-enactment community. Those interested in the topic, arguably due to lack of better resources than on purpose, based their research on the best available book with symbols that had a certain feel of authenticity due to being based on Icelandic origin. With its increasing popularity, the “vegvísir” also became an attractive article for online shops targeting this particular market, as well as for Icelandic tourist shops (see Tourism on Iceland), which still promote the “vegvísir” as an “authentic Viking symbol” due to commercial reasons. Another notable promoter of the symbol was the Icelandic singer Björk, who had it tattooed in 1982 and began to describe it as “an ancient Viking symbol, which seafarers painted with coal on their foreheads to find the correct way” since 1990s (gudmundsdottirbjork.blogspot.com). This caused “vegvísir” to become a part of tattoo artists’s portfolios, and at the moment the two mentioned influences intersected, the symbol became one of the most often tattooed motives in the neo-pagan, musical, re-enactment and Old Norse interest communities.

It is important to note that nowadays the circular variants, sometimes accompanied by rune alphabet, are the most used, although the original versions were of squarish shape and are without any runes.

Conclusion

The symbol known as “vegvísir” is Icelandic folk feature borrowed from continental occult magic “Solomon’s testament”. It is about 160 years old and its use is limited to the 2nd half of 19th century in an Icelandic city of Akureyri. The only literary sources we have from the Icelandic tradition are few mentions in three manuscripts, which are based on each other. The “vegvísir” is not a symbol used or originating in the Viking Age, and due to the 800 years gap should not be connected to it.The original Icelandic “vegvísir” is of square shape, with the circular variants emerging in the 20th century. Its current popularity is tied to the spread of the Internet and strong promotion in an on-line medium, that is easily accessible by the current users of the symbol.

I would love to express my thanks to my friends who inspired me towards composing this article, as well as those who provided me with the much-needed advice. My gratitude goes to Václav Maňha for the initial idea, to Marianne Guckelsberger for corrections on the Icelandic text and to René Dieken for providing me with various English sources.

During my research work, I have long been coming across an unusual type of artefacts, which are being described as miniature weathervanes (Swedish: miniatyrflöjel, miniflöjel, German: Miniaturwetterfahne). After many years, I have decided to take a deep look into these interesting objects and provide the readers with thorough analysis, comments and further references.

Finds description

At the moment, I am aware of eight more or less uniform miniature weathervanes, originating from seven localities. Let us take a detailed look at each of them:

Svarta jorden, Birka, Sweden
At the end of the 19th century, one miniature weathervane was found in the Black Earth (located on Björko) during the excavations led by archaeologist Hjalmar Stolpe. It is 45 mm long and 35 mm wide (Salin 1921: 3, Fig. 4; Sörling 2018: 59). The material is gilded bronze (Lamm 2002: 36, Bild 4a). Currently, the item is stored in The Swedish History Museum under the catalogue number 5208:188; the on-line version of the catalogue also mentions a presence of 85 mm long pole (stång).

Tingsgården, Rangsby, Saltvik, ÅlandyMost likely in 1881 in Tingsgården, a barrow was found on the land of Ålandian landlord Robert Mattsson, whene he took it apart to use the materials for landscaping. Inside of the barrow, he found a wooden riveted coffin with remnants of coal, bones and an iron object. An archaeological research was conducted in the summer of 1903 by Björn Cederhvarf from The National Museum of Finland, who documented the find and transported it to the museum in Helsinki. The landlord’s son made yet another discovery in the barrow’s ground – a damaged bronze item with stylised animal ornament – a miniature weathervane which was 52 mm long, 37,5 mm wide and weighed 17,6 grams. To this day, the object is stored in The National Museum of Finland, designated by inventory number 4282:13. The Åland Museum only displays a very successful replica (Salin 1921: 20, Fig. 21; Lamm 2002: Bild 4c; Lamm 2004).
Literature: Salin 1921; Ekberg 2002; Lamm 2002; Lamm 2003; Lamm 2004; Thunmark-Nylén 2006.

Gropstad, Syrholen, Dala-Floda, Dalarna, SwedenSupposedly in 1971, a highly damaged cremation burial was uncovered near Gropstad at Dala-Floda, containing only two fragmentary casts of miniature weathervanes (Frykberg 1977: 25-30). Both were made of bronze and vary in shape, level of conservation and decoration. One of them does not retain pole sockets, has more significant tassels and is of Borre design. The other has pole sockets, but lacks the tassels – instead, it has perforation, which could had been used for tassel attachment – and is decorated with simple concentric circles. Currently, the weathervanes are stored in Dalarnas Museum in Falun, Sweden.

Häffinds, Burs, Bandlunde, GotlandAnother miniature weathervane was found during excavation of a Viking age marketplace near Häffinds on the eastern coast of Gotland (Thunmark-Nylén 2006: 366-367, Abb. III:40:7:I). The excavation was then led by Göran Burenhult from the Stockholm University and the weathervane was the most interesting item found during the work. The object is made of bronze, measures 53 mm × 42 mm (Thunmark-Nylén 2000: 92) or 54 mm × 43 mm (Lamm 2002: 39, Bild 4g; Lamm 2003: 60). It weighs 26 grams (Lamm 2002: 39). During that time, this particular weathervane brought interest mainly due to having been the first one differentiating from the Birka and Tingsgården finds: it has three pole sockets, the yard ends with animal head terminal and the tassels are pointed.
Literature: Brandt 1986; Edgren 1988; Thunmark-Nylén 2000; Brandt 2002; Ekberg 2002; Lamm 2002; Lamm 2003; Lamm 2004; Thunmark-Nylén 2006.

Söderby, Lovö, Uppland, SwedenA completely shape-identical bronze weathervane was found in spring of 2002 during excavation in Söderby, Sweden, lead by Bo Petré. It was unearthed in a particularly interesting cremation grave A 37 – it seems the grave was deliberately dug within a Bronze Age barrow, and the dead (presumed male) was laid on a bear fur along with dogs, a horse, a chest, a long knife, a silver-posament decorated clothing, two oriental silver coins from 9th century, a comb, a whetstone, two ceramic cups and an iron necklace with a hammer pendant and then cremated (Petré 2011: 60-61). The weathervane is 48 mm long, 37 mm wide and weighs 19,9 grams. Three pole sockets hold a bronze circular shaft, which is broken on both ends (Lamm 2002: 39). The grave has been dated to 10th century (Lamm 2002: 39). Currently, the item is stored in The Swedish History Museum under catalogue number 26192 (F2).
Literature: Ekberg 2002; Lamm 2002; Lamm 2003; Lamm 2004; Thunmark-Nylén 2006; Petré 2011; catalogue SHM.

Novoselki, Smolensk, RussiaAfter the Söderby weathervane find, Jan Peder Lamm, the author of an article about miniature weathervanes, received a message of yet another object from Russian archaeologist Kirill Michailov of the IIMK Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences. The miniature weathervane was excavated in Novoselki village in Smolensk area. The message also included a drawing, produced by Mr. Michailov himself after the find in 1996. The drawing shows that the item is the same type like the Häffinds and Söderby finds, though differentiating in the number of pole sockets – having only two instead of three and mounted with an iron shaft. Dr. Lamm stated (Lamm 2002: 40; Lamm 2003: 61) that the find originates from the grave nr. 4, which was marked as incorrect after the publication of E. A. Schmidt’s find in 2005. Schmidt (Schmidt 2005: 196, Il. 11:2) claims that the miniature weathervane was found in the grave nr. 6, along with a spearhead, a knife and a ceramic cup. The object was depicted with a long needle pin and a ring in the form of clothing pin. Personal interviews conducted with archaeologists Sergei Kainov (State Historical Museum of Russia), Kirill Mikhailov (Institute for the History of Material Culture, Russia) and jeweller Vasily Maisky indicate that Schmidt’s drawing is a reconstruction and that the weathervane (which is now stored in The Smolensk State Museum-Preserve under inventory number 23656/1-9) is broken to pieces and lacks the central part with the ring. Despite that, there is no reason not to trust in Schmidt’s reconstruction; it only means that not all of the pieces of the original find are on display.

A drawing of the weathervane from Novoselki. Source: Schmidt 2005: 196, Il. 11:2.

Menzlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, GermanyDuring the autumn of 2002, the International Sachsensymposion (Internationales Sachsensymposion 2002) was organised at the Schwerin castle, where Dr. Lamm held a speech on then newly excavated Söderby and Novoselki weathervanes. After the presentation, he was informed by Friedrich Lüth about yet another, similar object found nearby, at the Viking age trading centre Menzlin. The very same day, Mr. Lamm went to see the find that was deposited in a special showcase in Menzlin, which is used for displaying newly excavated items from the area. He acknowledged that the item is in fact a miniature weathervane and is very similar to the Birka and Tingsgården finds (Lamm 2003). The weathervane was probably excavated in 1999 and published the next year (Schirren 2000: 472, Abb. 136:1). As far as we can tell from the detailed photos, it is about 50 mm long and 38 mm wide.
Literature: Schirren 2000; Ekberg 2002; Lamm 2002; Lamm 2003; Lamm 2004; Thunmark-Nylén 2006.

Menzlin weathervane. Source: Lamm 2003: Abb. 1.

Looking at the finds, we can clearly define two standardized types of the miniature weathervanes – the “Birka type” and the “Häffinds type” – along with the unusual and atypic pieces (Gropstad). Next, we will take a closer look at the presumed function of these objects and the symbolism of miniature weathervanes in Old-Norse culture.

The function of miniature weathervanes

Jan Peder Lamm had three theories on the possible function of miniature weathervanes. According to him, they were mainly a status symbols and pieces of artistic value. At the same time, he held the opinion of the objects being a part of boat-models, similar to ship-shaped candlesticks (Lamm 2002: 40; Lamm 2003: 61; Lamm 2004: 138), which we know from Norwegian church environment of 12th and 13th century (Blindheim 1983: 96, Fig. 7). The third supposed function was in a seafaring naviagion tool – Mr. Lamm suggested the weathervanes could had been used to help with determining angular height of astronomical objects. This theory was pursued before Lamm by Engström and Nykänen (Engström – Nykänen 1996) but was denoted as surreal and inconclusive (Christensen 1998).

As far as we can tell, the theory of boat models does not fit most of the listed finds. The boat-shaped candlestick platforms are at least two centuries younger and we have only one pair-find of the weathervanes from Gropstad. Thus, it is more probable that the Viking-Age miniature weathervanes were a part of clothing pins, as can be seen at the example from Novoselku. It seems that the poles were narrowed on the inserting part, while having the tip widened and flattened. Below the weathervane, there was a eyelet for attaching a string, which was used for fixing the pin. This method was most likely used for cloak fastening. The standardized look can indicate a centralized manufacture and distribution via for example gift-giving.

Weathervane symbolism

The literature on miniature weathervanes was to a major extent focused on symbolism that was presumed the items had. From the era between 1000-1300 AD, we know of at least five complete Scandinavian weathervanes and several of their fragments – all of which were made from gilded high-percentage copper (Blindheim 1983: 104-105). That is in compliance with literary sources, which place gilded weathervanes (oldnorse: veðrviti)at the bow of the war ships of important personas (Blindheim 1983: 93; Lamm 2003: 57). The bow-situated weathervanes can also be found in 11th-13th century iconography, while in the older iconography, the weathervanes can also be found on masts (Blindheim 1983: 94-98; Lamm 2004: 140; Thunmark-Nylén 2006: 367). Aside of that, we also have several instances of the weathervane motive used on metal applications of horse harnesses, pendants and – as discussed above – as clothes pins, which are very faithful miniatures of the genuine ship weathervanes.

The weathervanes first started to appear on bow of the ships as early as 11th century, when they began to replace the wooden heads. Their function did not change though – the weathervanes were also removable, and the animals depicted on them were meant to frighten any chaotic agents dwelling along the journey. At the same time, the weathervane posed as a revering representation of the ship’s owner and thus presented a clearly distinguishable symbol. It is often stated that the function of weathervanes changed throughout the following ages, finding the usage on church buildings. However, according to Martin Blindheim (1983: 107-108), the old Norwegian military service laws mention that important ship equipment was stored in churches, and while the rest of the equipment (sails, ropes) fell victim to the passing of time, the weathervanes survived and became a permanent property of the churches. The connection of a church and a ship in naval-oriented Scandinavia is also backed up by the church boat-shaped candlesticks.

At the very least we can say that during the Viking Age, the weathervane was perceived as a property of the ship’s owner and as a precious symbol referring to naval activity and personal reputation. Not every ship owner could afford such an accessory though – the weathervane was undoubtedly limited only to a very small group of the richest, who owned huge and top-grade equipped vessels. The tradition of using weathervanes was so anchored in Scandinavian culture, that it had a substantial effect on weathervane usage even in different parts of Europe – e.g. France where the French word for “weathervane” (girouette) originates from Old Norse (Lindgrén – Neumann 1984).

There are some “truths” in reenactment that are not questioned even though they should be. These are called “reenactorism” and engaged by both newbies and veterans. In this article we will show one of these, the myth of a long belt in Early medieval Europe, following the work done by German reenactorChristopher Kunz.

It is fully evident from the preserved material that there was a number of approaches to belt wearing in the Early Middle ages. These approaches originated alongside cultural environment and local development, social ranking, gender and usage method. The assumption of using a uniform belt type with the same width and length is wrong. On the initiative of beginning reenactors who often raise questions about belt length, in this article we will try to map the legth of men’s leather belts according to iconography and finds in burial complexes.

Simple belt with a short end (up to approx. 20 cm)

This form best resembles present belts, which are manufactured approximately 15 cm longer than the waistline. In seven graves from Birka, Sweden (488, 750, 761, 918, 949, 1030, 1076) the buckles are no more than 10 cm far from each other (Arbman 1943) and similar positions could be found throughout Europe – we can mention Great Moravian (i.e. Kalousek 1973: 33, Fig. 13) or Danish graves (Arents – Eisenschmidt 2010b: 301, Taf. 3). There are no belts with hanging strap-ends in Early medieval iconography, which is rather schematic than detailed. Belts are scarcely visible in painted iconography as they usually seem to be overlapped by pleated upper tunics, which can be interpreted as an element of fashion. As a result the belt looks like a narrow horizontal line.

There is a certain contradiction between some burial positions and strap-end decor, where some of Early medieval belts had strap-ends that hung down when threaded through the buckle. The most graphic evidence comes from depictions of people and animals which can be seen on the strap-ends and placed lengthwise. In some cases, there are figures of naked men depicted on the strap-ends, which could imply that the hanging end could reach down to the genitals and symbolically represent or emphasize them (Thomas 2000: Fig. 3.16, 3.27). In the listing below we will attempt to suggest several manners of tying these belts.

Loose end
The simplest form is represented by a belt worn in its nearly maximal length. The end is then short enough not to obstruct manual labour and because it copies the belt, it can be hidden in a pleated tunic. Depictions of loose belt ends can be quite typically observed in 13th and 14th century. Moreover, we know a belt from Early medieval Latvia which had a metal ring at its end, used to grapple on a buckle tongue. The very same method was is also known from Čingul mound, Ukraine, from 13th century (Отрощенко – Рассамакин 1983: 78).

Tucked behind the beltAnother simple way of wearing a belt is tucking its end behind the already fastened part of the belt. We have at least one piece of evidence of this wearing from Anglo-Saxon England, where a belt passed through the buckle, flipped back and end tucked behind itself was documented (Watson 2006: 6-8). This forms a perpendicular line on the belt and keeps the face side of strap-end exposed. In case of pleated tunic covering the belt it can be easily adjusted to form a line.

Tucked in a sliderMetal belt sliders are very scarce in terms of archeological material. One of this kind was found within Gokstad Barrow (C10439) and adjusted to fit a strap-end from the same grave (Nicolaysen 1882: 49, Pl: X:11). Another slider was presumably found in Birka grave no. 478 (Abrman 1943: 138) and three more made of sheet bronze were apparently found in Kopparvik, Gotland (Toplak 2016: 126). According to sliders usually appearing in relation to spurs or garters where they are 2-3 centimeters wide (i.e. Andersen 1993: 48, 69; Thomas 2000: 268; Skre 2011: 72-74), we can assume that if the sliders were used with belts more, we would be able to detect them more easily. It is possible that they corroded over time, that organic sliders were used too or that they will be found during a more detailed research. Generally we can assume that the sliders were used in cases where the buckles did not include holding plates – in opposite cases the holding plates would not be visible after using the slider.

Puncturing two holesA relatively elegant reenactor’s solution is to puncture two consecutive holes and tuck the belt behind its buckle. All the belt’s components therefore remain visible. This solution was documented in case of at least two archeological finds from Britain and Belgium, 6th-7th century. (De Smaele et al. in press; Watson 2002: 3). The same system is known from Early medieval Latvia. In case of pleated tunic covering the belt it can be easily adjusted to form a line.

Attaching by a thongAnother aesthetical, yet undocumented manner of attaching a belt is adding a thong which holds the buckle’s tongue while the strap-end continues further behind the buckle. We have no evidence for this manner.

Fig. 11: Fixing the buckle with a thong attached to the belt. An unfounded hypothesis.
Author: L’Atelier de Micky.

Tucking into a buckle slotBuckles having a rectangular slot aside from the typical loop are very common in Eastern-European regions. After fastening the belt using the loop’s tongue, the strap-end could be tucked into this slot and hanged downwards. In case of pleated tunic covering the belt it can be easily adjusted to form a line.

Knot on a belt
The most frequent solution among reenactors is undoubtedly a knot performed like this: after going through the buckle, the strap-end is tucked behind the belt from below and then passed through the resulting loop. This means achieving a perpendicular line on the belt and keeping the strap-end’s face side visible. This knot-tying, although with much shorter belt than standardly used in today’s reenactment, could be found in France during the Merovingian age (France-Lanlord 1961). With a high probability, the same solution was found in a grave from St Michael’s Church graveyard in Workington, England. Knots were often worn in 13th and 14th century.

Fig. 13: Reconstruction of a Merovingian belt from St. Quentin.France-Lanlord 1961.

Composite belt with a long end

Some of the Eastern-European Early medieval decorated belts are manufactured in a more complex way, having one or more longer ends. In case of a belt constructed to have more ends, one of these ends – usually the shorter one – is designed to be fixed by the buckle, while the others are either tagged on or formed by the outer layer of two-layered belt. Long ends of these costly belts are designed for double wrapping, tucking into a slider or behind the belt. The length of the ends is not standardized, however we are unable to find any belt that would reach below its owner’s crotch when completely tied. While looking for parallels, we can notice that a belt compounded this way has many similarities to tassels on horse harnesses. Apparently, the belts were worn by riders or emerged from such a tradition, then maintained the position of wealthy status even after being adopted by neighbouring non-nomadic cultures. At last we can state that longer belts were designed mainly to hold more decoration and to allow the owner to handle the length more flexibly, whether for practical or aesthetical reasons.

Conclusion

The topic of belt lenght in reenactment is definitely a controversional one as it touches every male reenactor. Belts are sometimes costly and even a hint, originally meant as constructive critic, can easily cause negative emotions. There is no need for them though, as there is probably no reenactor who has never worn a long belt. We suppose that this reenactorism, used in practice for more than 30 years over the whole world, is caused by these factors:

unwillingness to perform one’s own research leading to imitation of a generally accepted model

bad access to sources or their misintepretation

easily obtainable and cheap, yet historically inaccurate belts sold on the internet in standard length of about 160 cm

unwillingness to talk about the problem by both organizers and attendants

In this article, we demonstrated that historical belts often did not have any hanging ends and that the maximum length where the end would reach was the crotch, which could have a symbolic meaning. Any of the aforementioned manners of attaching should not be incompatible with the sources we have at our disposal, however as we already mentioned, both the length and style of wearing followed local traditions. Western Europe therefore preferred delicately hidden belts while in Eastern Europe, the richly decorated belts were worn on public display.

Hansen, Gitte – Jansen, Øystein J. – Heldal, Tom (2017). Soapstone Vessels from Town and Country in Viking Age and Early Medieval Western Norway. A Study of Provenance. In: Gitte Hansen – Per Storemyr (eds.). Soapstone in the North Quarries, Products and People 7000 BC – AD 1700, Bergen: University of Bergen, 249-328.

Just like in modern population, early medieval people wore mittens and gloves for various reasons. In this article, we will show how these mittens and gloves looked and what was their possible function.

By material

Leather mittens and glovesMittens and gloves made of leather protect against cold, heat and bruises. They can also fulfil an aesthetical function as they adhere to the body well. Four finds come from the 7th century. Grave No. 17 in Oberflacht, Germany contained “a strange pair of mittens with thick folds on the back and underlined with soft, almost ruined fabric” (Dürrich – Menzel 1847: 11). A very similar example, made of a fine leather lined with linen, was found in the rich grave from Greding, Bavaria (Mord im Mittelalter 2012). The third example is a mitten decorated with an intertwined application from the boy’s grave from Cologne Cathedral, Germany (Gillich et al. 2008: 8-11). The fourth mitten is a fragment of goatskin decorated with an intertwined application from the grave no. 8 in St. Ulrich’s and St. Afra’s Abbey, Augsburg (Werner 1977: 163). Danish Hjørring Museum contains fragments of presumable mittens from the Viking Age made of lambskin, which were preserved probably thanks to being stored in a bronze vessel. Next suitable material comes from the Caucasus. It is a fingerglove from Moscevaja Balka, which probably belonged to a woman due to its size and is made of soft lambskin, decorated by sewn-on ribbons and red morocco leather circles on the knuckles (Jerusalimskaja 2012: 212, Пл. 130). Fingertips of this glove seem to be open so the last phalanxes were bare. Another Caucasian mittens from the period of 8th to 10th century are located in Metropolitan Museum, New York (Kajitani 2001: 90, Fig. 8). These mittens also leave phalanxes bare.

Fur mittensMittens made of fur with hair inside seem to have a practical sense especially against coldness. Right hand mitten from Old Ladoga made of sheepskin in 8-9th century (Ojateva 1965: 50, Рис. 3 : 1) can be mentioned among early medieval finds. In the Saga of Eiríkr the Red (3), there is a seer who wears “mittens of cat fur with white hair inside”.

Mittens made of wool were among the most popular ones. Methods of their manufacture could differ.

Felt mittens
Felting is a method of weaving fibers of wetted woven fabric in order to make a hardier, rain-proof textile. Two pieces which can be related to felt mittens can be found in the literature. One is the fingerless mitten from Dorestad, Netherlands (7–10th century), which is made of two pieces of brown dyed, felted wool fabric originally sewn from herringbone textile (Brandenburgh 2010: 69; Miedema 1980: 250–254). Simple rectangular cover is thickened by a sewn-on square on the palm side. Brown felt fragment, perhaps originally belonging to a nålebound mitten, was found inside a grave in Finnish Halikko Rikala location and is dated to the 11th century. (Vajanto 2014: 24–25). Felt mittens were used also in medieval Netherlands (Williemsen 2015: 4–5).

Nålebound mittens
Mittens made by nålbinding technique were apparently popular in early Middle Ages, as shown by their geographic and chronological spread (Vajanto 2014: 22; Walton 1989: 341–345). That was because of their flexibility and sturdiness, which were essential especially in case of socks and mittens. Factual evidence comes from Iceland and Finland. The Icelandic mitten was found in the ruins of Arneiðarstaðir farmstead together with a bronze ringed-pin dated to 10th cenutry (Hald 1951). Nålebound fragments were found in at least five Finnish, mostly women’s graves from 11th century (Eura Luistari 56, Halikko Rikala 38, Kaarina Kirkkomäki 31, Köyliö Köyliönsaari 28, Masku Humikkala 30) near the hands, which suggests that the body was put into the grave wearing mittens (Vajanto 2014: 25). Such fragments were often striped or embroidered; in case of the striped variants it was a combination of dark and light thread or a combination of blue, white and red shades (Vajanto 2014: 25–26). In case of the Finnish mittens, it is presumed that protection against cold was not their primary function as some burials occured in other seasons than winter, some dyes were not amongst the standardly used ones and the fragments did not imply using thumbs (Vajanto 2014: 30).

Mitten found in the ruins of Arneiðarstaðir farmstead.Hald 1951: 1. mynd.

Mittens sewn from a woven fabric
Mittens which were cut and sewn from a woven fabric with no underlining were probably the most frequently used of all. Presently we document three mittens on Iceland, one on the Shetland Islands, one in Norway, two in Germany and one in Netherlands. We will begin with the Icelandic ones. In the year 1881, in the place of former farmstead of Garðar on Akranes, a mitten was found that could be dated to the farmstead’s origin, which means 9-10th century. (Pálsson 1895: 34–35). The mitten is four-pieced – front and back part, sewn-in thumb and an inset – left-handed and assuming from its wrist width, it was worn over upper clothing. It is interesting that the manufacturer used 2/2 twill with inwoven pile of unspun short tufts of brushed wool for the mitten, with the tufts functioning as an isolation (Guðjónsson 1962: 21–22). The remaining two Icelandic mittens were found together and therefore present the only preserved pair. They were found on Heynes in 1960 (Guðjónsson 1962: 16). These are evidently children’s mittens and they are connected with a sewn-on lace that could be threaded through sleeves, so the child would not lose them. These were probably made from re-used material which originally had a different function (Guðjónsson 1962: 30). The mittens are therefore unlike: right one is made of three pieces (main frame and two opposite pieces for the thumb), while the left one is four-pieced (two opposite pieces for the frame and two opposite pieces for the thumb). Thumb holes are not on the edge, instead they are placed with certain spacing.

Another mitten made of rough woven wool was found on Shetlands during peat extraction (Vikings 2012). It was carbon-dated to 975, which is unfortunately the only detail we know. A presumably left-handed mitten was found in 2011 on the melting Lendbreen iceberg in Norway, conservatively estimated to be from the years 800–1000. It seems that this mitten was composed of at least four pieces: back, thumb and two-pieced palm. One German mitten was found in Ralswiek and it is dated to 8–9th century (Herrmann 1985: 288, Abb. 136). This one has a seam alongside its whole length and its wrist collar presents a standalone piece. The second German glove or mitten comes from the grave no. 58 in Trossingen, 6th century; the glove was made of red, yellow and black fabric that was decorated with an intertwined leather application and a reinforced leather thumb (Peek – Nowak-Böck 2016: 385-390). We should also mention the presumably right-handed mitten from Aalsum, Netherlands, which is dated to 8–10th century. The only known detail we have is that the warp threads are of average or small width and therefore density, while the weft threads are very thick and therefore have a low density per square centimeter. This solution, probably aiming to save material, can be also seen in cases of mittens from Garðar and Shetlands. Moreover, the mitten from Aalsum was also sewn together with a very thick thread.

As far as we know, there is one written evidence of feather mitten from the early Middle Ages. It can be found in Haraldskvæði(verse 6) by Þorbjǫrn hornklofi, where it can be read that the ruler Haraldr Fairhair wore mittens stuffed with downy feathers – probably of an eider – in his youth (or child years). This verse compared a matured man willing to sail and fight even in winter and a spoiled boy who rather spends the winter in women’s part of the palace and wears feather mittens on his hands. From the context of this mitten we can perceive it as pertaining to a wealthy child’s apparel.

Early Middle Ages provide us with only decent traces of iron mail being used as a hand protection. The most important find of this kind comes from grave no. 8 in Swedish Valsgärde, which contained guards for both legs and one hand, originally misinterpreted as chestplate (Arwidsson 1939; Arwidsson 1954). Iron mail was most probably attached to these guards and in case of the right hand it was used as a coating of the presumably leather mitten or glove (Vike 2000). This find is dated to the 7th century. That is the same for another probable find, a fragment of iron mail from grave no. 119 in Castel Trosino, Italy, which was found near the deceased body’s hand (Beatson 2011–12). If we extended our search outside Europe, we could for example find scale gloves used in the area of present Iran.

By shape

According to the information we have, we can divide mittens and gloves by shape:

Fingerless mittens (warmers)Simple fingerless warmers fulfiling the function of mittens were documented in the area of present Netherlands, specifically the felt mitten from Dorestad. Fingerless form is speculated also in case of Finnish nålebound mittens, which were preserved without thumbs, however this could be a coincidence. We encountered no medieval analogy to this find. That is probably because this was a very primitive and impractical manner of hand protection.

MittensVariously constructed mitten seems to be the most common early medieval shape and is continued until today. We assume it to occur in leather, textile and even metal variations. A mitten with its fingertips bare presents a specific variation known from the Caucasus. Norse myths also refer to mittens (related to the myth described in Gylfaginning 45).

Finger glovesAside from the Trossingen and Caucasian specimens we described earlier, it is supposed that finger gloves were not widespread in continental Europe until the 12th century. Even three finger gloves cannot be confirmed for the early Middle Ages despite their significant popularity in 14-16th century (Williemsen 2015: 18–20).

By function

As suggested before, gloves and mittens had multiple functions. Here is the outline:

Protection against cold
The most presumed function is definitely protection against cold. Many mittens were undoubtedly intended to keep the hand warm and this aim was supported by additional protection – fur (Old Ladoga, Saga of Eiríkr the Red), inwoven tufts of wool (Garðar) or feathers (Haraldskvæði). We can assume that children’s mittens (Heynes, Haraldskvæði) were designated to keep their hands warm. One of the mittens (Lendbreen) was found on an iceberg with a popular tradition of reindeer hunting, which can be considered as an evidence of the mitten’s function. Moreover, a mitten was displayed on a 11th century runestone from the church in Sproge (G 373), Gotland, depicting a sleigh rider wearing mitten on his hand while driving horses (Snædal – Gustavson 2013: 43–48).

Working in cold and wet weather
It is logical that mittens were not only worn in wintertime during transport (horses, sleigh, ski, skates, ships). They were used while hunting, pulling ropes on a ship, fishing, tar making, plowing, herding, woodcutting, peat mining and other outdoor activities which could take place in bad weather.

Blacksmithing
We could expect mittens being used while working at a forge. Nevertheless, this assumption is not confirmed; early medieval iconography depicts blacksmiths wearing no mittens nor gloves, sometimes also with their sleeves pulled up. The closest material can be found in a Norse myth referring to iron mittens enabling one to grab heated metal (Skáldskaparmál 26).

Falconry
The noble art of falconry has often included wearing leather mittens, which provide better features against the bird’s grip. As far as we know, we have only two pieces of evidence for falconer’s mittens being used in early medieval Europe. The older one comes from a Byzantine mosaic inside so called Falconer’s Villa in Aros, Greece, which dates to the 6th century (Wallis 2017: Illus. 2). The newer source comes from an Anglo-Saxon cross in Bewcastle, England and is dated to 7-8th century (Wallis 2017: 430). In the rest of falconry scenes, for example on the Bayeux tapestry, people do not wear hand protection and have their birds of prey on bare hands (Owen-Crocker 2004: 265). Even skaldic kennings related to falconry do not mention hand protection. It is therefore legitimate to wonder if these cultural products reflect the reality trustworthily. Falconry scenes of 12th century and further periods already contain finger gloves (i.e. Schnack 1998: 48).

Protection in fight
Despite many historical parallels and common sense we are unable to prove other than rare use of protective hand protection during a fight. Mittens or gloves coated with iron mail present the only exceptions. As it seems, the absence of protection in sources is not caused by ravages of time, but instead by a different approach to this issue. The fighters apparently preferred fine motorics, were able to effectively block with their shields and in battle they mostly used a combination of shields and pole weapons. But most importantly, no kind of period protection could fully protect against all weapon types. We have already attended the issue here in more detail. The very same problem pertains also to archer’s gloves which could not be confirmed.

Part of a spectacular clothing
Nevertheless, gloves and mittens could also fulfil an aesthetical function on the hands of wealthy and powerful. We saw they could be custom-made, painted, embroidered (Finnish mittens), decorated with expensive materials (Moscevaja Balka) or stuffed with deluxe padding (Haraldskvæði). They could therefore serve as a symbol of status to some extent, which is apparent especially in case of rulers and church representatives. We will mention two illustrative examples. Mittens are mentioned in the last will of Anglo-Saxon noble called Byrhtnoth, who leaves a “pair of skilfully crafted gloves“ (Owen-Crocker 2004: 265), and they also appear as a gift in the Saga of Njál (31), where the king bestows leather mittens embroidered with gold.